Popular Music (2006) Volume 25/3. Copyright 2006 Cambridge University Press, pp.

345346
doi:10.1017/S0261143006000948 Printed in the United Kingdom

Introduction to Dance special

issue
Are ye dancin? Are ye askin? Yes Im askin Then Im dancin! This was the
exchange between couples in Glasgow early in the twentieth century at the height of
the ballroom dancing boom that made the city one of the dancing capitals of the world.
It lingers on in Scottish dancing parlance. In Havana, people were dancing danzn; in
Buenos Aires, tango; and in Ro de Janeiro, samba. It was a time of big orchestras when
women wore evening dresses and men wore suits. Today, whilst the clothes may have
changed, dance with its link to sensual pleasure continues to be fundamental to our
cultures.
In this special Dance issue we have eight articles that examine aspects of dance
and dance music in the wider world. The issue was inspired by the integral connection
between dance and dance music, and it sought to address a dearth of work on popular
music and actual dancing practices. We invited contributions that explored the
complex interconnections between popular music and dance, asking questions about
identity, cultural policy, history, technology, industry, the market and the body. We
also encouraged inter-disciplinary approaches and perspectives. The result is a stimu-
lating range of papers which engage in a multiplicity of ways with the phenomenon of
dance and dance music at different times and in different parts of the world, and help
to further our understanding of the world of dance and the world around dance.
Cristina Baade introduces us to the world of The dancing front, looking at the
BBCs ambivalent engagement with dance music during the Second World War,
notably the genre known as swing and sentimentality. Tim Walls Out on the floor
looks at the Northern Soul scene, lively since the early 1970s, exploring the meanings
of dance for the scenes participants, notably the importance of solidarity and senses
of identity through gender, place and ethnicity. Lisa Gilman and John Fenn take us
to Malawi looking at rap and raga in a nationwide scene characterised by male-
dominated competitions. They contrast male dominance in competitions with female
involvement as dancers, making attention to dance crucial for understanding gender
dynamics. Their exploration of intersections between dance, music, gender and class
provides insight into the reasons for and implications of male dominance in this
popular music/dance scene.
In Dancing with desire we go to the TijuanaSan Diego border with Alejandro
Madrid, to the world of hybrid Nor-tec music which incorporates the sounds of
traditional music from the North of Mexico and computer-based styles of dance
music. Madrid looks at how Nor-tec became a phenomenon in the underground
electronic music scene, and by focusing on Nor-tec scenes in Tijuana, Los Angeles and
Chicago, identifies how different transnational communities appropriate this music
and navigate notions of identity, modernity and tradition. Joanne Demers brings us to
the world of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), an arcade and home video game
where players move their feet in specific patterns to electronic dance music, popular
among teenagers all over the world.
In Understand us before you end us, Charity Marsh looks at how power is
(re)produced on and through the body, specifically on Torontos raving bodies
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during the summer of 2000, a period when rave culture came under intense surveil-
lance by the authorities, resulting in a temporary ban. Peter Manuel and Wayne
Marshalls Riddim method looks at riddim-plus-voicing, the unique and distinc-
tive form of song construction, as represented by Jamaican dancehall reggae and the
work of deejays singing (or voicing) over autonomous accompanimental tracks.
Finally, in an extended Middle Eight, Jan Fairley (one of the issue Editors) takes us to
Cuba to look at the controversial phenomenon of regeton (reggaetn) dance in the light
of lyrics, dance moves, transnationalism and post-feminism.
Whilst the issue focuses on just a few specific issues and dance styles, and only
scratches the surface of the complex relationship between popular music and dance,
we hope that it will inspire further reflection and investigation and provoke further
questions. Are ye dancin? cos were askin!
We would like to thank Amparo Lasen Daz for her kind help in the preparation
of this special Dance issue.
Sara Cohen and Jan Fairley
Institute of Popular Music,
University of Liverpool